Wichita eagle., 1887-08-05
AN OLD TINE ACROBAT.
THE CAREER OF THE ONCE FA-
NOUS HENRY M. MAJiLTON.

His Fall from a Trapeze-The Wonder Of
Observation-Disclosures of Old Circus
Days-Saved Money and Has Fair
Competence.
In cosy home In Ellsworth street lives
Henry N. Majlton, who for thrice, years
of his early life was the wonder of sllowmen
who has been for twenty five years more
than wonder to those who knew him be-
cause of the marvellous cheeriness with which
he has endured life of physical inaninity
caused by a paralysis of his lower extremities,
the result of a spinal dlslocation following
fall while doing flying trapeze act in the
London Alhambra in March, 1861
His first venture In "the business" was In
1848, when he was engaged as stumbler" by
Aaron Turner, whose circus started from
Hamilton, O., and worked the season east
through New York and New England. His
salary was 50 week and found, and the best
performers in the show did not get more than
thrice the sum. Tim Turner, who was the
first to turn somersault on horse with q
pad, was the principal rider, and there was q
four horse act rider and scenic rider chang
ing costumes while in full career, a clown.
acrobats, slack rope dancer, about ten per-
formers in all, and about sixty people in all
with the sho.s, which exhibited in a forty
foot ring under a single pole tent of 100 feet
diameter, holding, on a pinch. nearly Zoo
people. There was stand and two shows
every day; the expenses were not over $500 a
day, and when the weather was good about
that amount was cleared. In those cheap
days fifty cents day paid for the food for
the men, and from fifteen to twenty-five
cents day for the horses. There were no
lady performers with the show and yet it was
considered very good circus in it's day. Ma
jilton was with Turner two seasons, during
which time he invented the three pole tent
which permitted great enlargement of the
canvas, and which is used by all the travelling
circuses outside of such big shows as Bar
NUNS or Forepaugh's to-day. In 1850 he en-
gagged with Spalding s. Rogers and remained
with them until 1885, working his way up to
the top of his profession by hard work, So
briefly, a genius for universally and rare
invention of new and hitherto supposed i'm
possible acts, and commanding the biggest
salary Of the day. He was with Spalding s.
Rogers when they ran their floating circus up
and down the Mississippi and its larger tribu-
taries, and it was while with these managers
that he made himself famous in his character
Of Jocko, in "Jocko;" or, the Brazilian Ape.
"JoCKo" HIS GREAT CHARACTER
The original of the character was Henry
Leech, an Englishman, whose professional
name was Otto Mouti His body was of the
size Of an ordinary mans, but his legs were
only foot long, yet such was his agility that
he could outrun, on all fours, a very fair run
ner. His skeleton is in Nine Tussaud's exhi-
bition in London. The Ravels afterward
introduced the character in their pantomimes,
but it was left to Majilton to bring it to per-
lection. He had wonderful strength in his
hands and could walk with his hands hanging
under an ordinary floor joist, his whole
weight depending upon the grip between his
thumbs a~d their opposing fingers, with per-
feet ease; and he occasionally astonished q
braggart of the profession by walking on his
hands on slack rope or on the hawser with
which the circus was towed by steamer.
This singular faculty made him an expert
climber and he would run up and down the
interior of the circus and leap the rail of the
tiers and run along them with an agility that
no ape could excel. He fairly rolled with
laughter when he told how he frightened the
colored people on the Mississippi.
On one occasion, when he leaped among
them, chattering and grimacing, many
Jumped in their fright through the windows
of the circus into the river and were rescued
with difficulty. For Gods sake, stop this"
said Spaulding afterward, cor We'll have
dead niggers to pay for" In December, 1854,
while playing in Charleston, he created almost
a panic in the theatre. One of the scrub
women was stationed in the third tier with a
stuffed baby, and Majilton, in his Jocko act,
snatched it from her and, jumping to the side
of the proscenium boxes, beat its head against
the wood and then threw it to the stage and
jumped on it, the women yelling all the while
and the audience in a terrible uproar of ter
ror and indignation.
NONE SINCE CAN DO THEM
MANY of his acts were of his own invention.